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Report of the Committee of the Whole to DC Council on the Takoma Central District Plan
Accompanying Proposed Resolution PR 14-614 with Recommendations
Adopted by Council on June 4, 2002

Council of the District of Columbia
Report

John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20004

To: All Councilmembers
From: Linda W. Cropp, Chairperson, Committee of the Whole
Date: June 4, 2002
Subject: PR 14-614, "Takoma Central District Plan Approval Resolution of 2002"

The Committee of the Whole, to which PR 14-614, the "Takoma Central District Plan Approval Resolution of 2002," was referred, reports favorably on the resolution and recommends its adoption by the Council of the District of Columbia.

Statement of Purpose and Effect

PR 14-614 provides Council approval of the Mayor's submission of the Takoma Central District Plan, dated January 2002. The Takoma Plan is the product of an 18-month small area planning process initiated by the Office of Planning to engage Takoma residents and other stakeholders in establishing a vision for future development, preservation and revitalization opportunities in the Takoma neighborhood commercial district. The Takoma Central District is generally defined by Chestnut Street NW to the north, Eastern Avenue NW to the east, 4th and 5th Streets NW to the west, and Aspen and Laurel Streets NW to the south, in the northeast portion of Ward 4.

Legislative History

March 20, 2002	PR 14-614 introduced by Chairman Cropp at the request of the Mayor and referred to the Committee of the Whole
April 12, 2002	Notice of public hearing on PR 14-614 published in D.C. Register
April 19, 2002	Notice of intent to act on PR 14-614 published in D.C. Register
May 14, 2002	Public hearing on PR 14-614
May 21, 2002	Continuation of public hearing on PR14-614
June, 4, 2002	Committee mark-up of PR 14-614

Committee Reasoning and Impact on Existing Law

Small area action plans represent the third tier of the District of Columbia's planning structure, following the Comprehensive Plan and the ward plans. The Takoma Central District small area plan was initiated in June 2000 by the Office of Planning, after the announcement of the disposition of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA") property at the Takoma Metro station and growing development interest in the Takoma community. All parties agree that ideally this planning process would and should have been initiated prior to the announced disposition of the Metro Station site. Nonetheless, that disposition has been on hold at the request of the District government, awaiting the outcome of this process.

The Takoma Plan is the first small area action plan to be submitted by the Mayor to the Council for approval pursuant to the District's Comprehensive Plan law (D.C. Code 1-301.64(c)(4)). The Comprehensive Plan provides that the Council has 45 legislative days to review a small area plan. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the small area plan, in whole or in part, by resolution within this 45-day period, the plan is deemed approved. If approved, the small area plan would provide supplemental guidance to District government agencies in carrying out the policies of the Comprehensive Plan and the Takoma Plan.

The Takoma Plan is the product of an 18-month community planning process initiated by the Office of Planning to engage Takoma residents and other stakeholders in establishing a vision for future development, preservation and revitalization opportunities in the Takoma neighborhood commercial district. The Takoma Central District is generally bounded on the north by Chestnut Street, N.W., on the east by Eastern Avenue, N.W., on the west by 4th and 5th Streets, N.W., and on the south by Aspen and Laurel Streets, N.W., located in the northeast portion of Ward 4.

This plan defines near and mid-term strategies for revitalization and historic preservation, and articulates broad development goals, urban design guidelines and priority actions necessary to encourage and facilitate reinvestment in the Takoma Central District. The planning process identified four fundamental issues about which the community was most concerned: accommodating growth; providing open space; accommodating transportation systems; and preserving and enhancing community character.

To accommodate the District's overall need for residential population growth as well as the demand for housing and economic development projected through a market analysis of the neighborhood, the Takoma Plan recommends using five underutilized "priority redevelopment sites" for a total of up to 400 new low-to-moderate density housing units in close proximity to the Central District to support better quality retail. The plan also calls for 30,000 square feet of new retail development to strengthen the commercial core, and for elimination of current industrial zoning in the area. This amount of development is actually less than what the current zoning envelope would permit, in order to accommodate the needs of transit and transportation functions, as well as the community's strong desire for open space, while still satisfying the principles of transit-oriented development and "smart growth."

To enhance open space as part of the identity of the Takoma neighborhood, the plan recommends creating a 0.8-1.2 acre public "village green" as part of the WMATA parcel (priority redevelopment site #1), which would be designed as an active civic green with a park-like setting. This amount of open space is in addition to the 0.3 acre landscaped buffer that is recommended by the plan to be provided between the Metro station's transit functions and existing residential uses, such as the apartment buildings to the north along Eastern Avenue. Other open space in the Central District is also encouraged to be retained and enhanced.

To accommodate both current and future traffic and to ensure that access to transit will be maintained and enhanced, the Takoma Plan acknowledges current traffic congestion problems and the need to correct these conditions in a manner that does not impede revitalization efforts. The plan recommends several transportation system actions: 1) conduct a comprehensive transportation system study to determine how best to remove regional commuter traffic from local Takoma arterial streets; 2) implement interim traffic calming solutions, including signalization and one-way streets, to improve current congestion problems; 3) ensure the accommodation of the effect of proposed new development on local streets by distributing regional traffic more evenly throughout the area; 4) relocate the existing surface parking at the Metro station to a more strategic and convenient location with multi-level parking to help meet both parking needs and accommodate other uses on the site, and seek minimum and on-site parking requirements for all new development to minimize overall demand; 5) provide increased bus bays at the WMATA site to accommodate future needs (10 bays for boarding/exiting, plus additional stacking spaces for buses) ; and 6) support and incorporate Metropolitan Branch Trail options into all transportation improvements for the area to ensure good access and connections to this regional transportation and recreation resource.

To enhance the community character of the Takoma neighborhood, the plan acknowledges the need for both public and private actions to address issues of public realm improvements, building design guidelines and historic preservation. Specifically, the plan calls for: 1) implementing a coordinated streetscape program in collaboration with Takoma Park, Maryland; 2) updating and enhancing historic district guidelines for built edges, public frontages and retail storefront; 3) continuing the work on the historic resources survey by the Office of Planning which is currently underway; 4) improving the pedestrian environment around the Metro station entrance; 5) adhering to specific redevelopment guidelines for the WMATA site; 6) strengthening the role and activism of the local merchants association and historic district organizations to promote the Takoma Central District; and 7) improving signage and wayfinding systems to better promote the historic district.

The Takoma plan is a tool to guide future growth, preservation and revitalization efforts in the Takoma neighborhood. The plan and existing law provides assurance that any development proposal that comes forward for the identified opportunity sites would need to go before the Zoning Commission and the Historic Preservation Review Board, where there would be additional opportunity for public hearings and more specific requirements and conditions associated with the development.

Page 34 of the Takoma Plan identifies the location of the five priority redevelopment sites in the Central District, and includes a summary of the recommended land uses for these sites:

Site #1 (WMATA site)

Preferred use: Residential and Retail/Service
Total lot area: +/-6.8 acres
Metro facilities: +/-2.3 acres
Village Green/Buffer: +/-1.5 acres
Developable area: +/-3.0 acres
Proposed Mix: +/-65-95 townhomes @ 22-32 units/acre, with
+/-10,000 sf ground floor retail/service space fronting upon Village Green

Site #2


Preferred use: Residential/Retail
Total lot area: +/-0.7 acres
Proposed Mix: +/-50 apartments, with
+/-10,000 sf ground floor retail

Site #3


Preferred use: Residential/Retail
Total lot area: +/-0.8 acres
Proposed Mix: +/-50 apartments, with
+/-5,000 sf ground floor retail

Site #4

Preferred use: Residential & Retail/Office
Total lot area: +/-0.8 acres
Proposed Mix: +/-30 units, above
2 floors of retail/office with +/-10,000 sf each

Site #5

Preferred use: Residential
Total lot area: +/-2.2 acres
Proposed Mix: +/-80 garden apartments @36 units/acre, or
+/-50 townhomes @ 22 units/acre

The Committee recommends Council approval of the Mayor's small area action plan for the Takoma Central District. The Committee believes that the goals, policies and implementation strategies identified in this plan will facilitate the revitalization of the Takoma residential and commercial neighborhood in a way that preserves and enhances the special character of this historic neighborhood, while contributing to the necessary growth and development of the District of Columbia as a whole. The Committee finds that the Takoma Plan is consistent with the policy for the Takoma Metro Station area set forth in the Ward 4 Plan (which is part of the Comprehensive Plan), which calls for "land use and zoning actions that encourage new and accommodate existing town houses and garden apartment development and discourage more industrial use."

The Committee, like all stakeholders, acknowledges that the planning process for the Takoma neighborhood should have started earlier and could have been better. However, the Committee also recognizes that this neighborhood is the beneficiary of the first small area action plan ever produced pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan by a newly revitalized Office of Planning.

As a result of extensive testimony received by the Committee during approximately 10 hours of public hearings, the Committee also makes the following recommendations to the executive branch and the Zoning Commission regarding the Takoma Plan:

• Traffic mitigation strategies arising from the more comprehensive transportation planning study that is currently being undertaken by the District Department of Transportation ("DDOT") should be incorporated as an addendum to the Takoma Plan;



• Regarding the redevelopment planned for the Takoma Metro station site:

• The Committee strongly endorses the planned Village Green totalling 0.8-1.2 acres of active civic green space, along with the landscaped buffer of not less than 50 feet and approximately 0.3 acres, to be provided between the Metro station's transit functions and existing residential uses, including the multi-family functions to the north along Eastern Avenue, in addition to the minimum front yard setback of 10 feet that is planned along Eastern Avenue and Cedar Street to provide a transitional community frontage with existing residential uses on the east side of these streets;

• Existing mature trees on the site should be retained to the extent feasible or otherwise replaced in the redevelopment with not less than a similar number of trees on the landscaped Village Green and other open space buffers that are planned on the site;

• Future transit operational requirements for the Takoma Metro station, as addressed in testimony by both WMATA and the Mayor of Takoma Park, Maryland about the needed number of bus bays and stacking spaces for both Metrobus and RideOn services, should be accommodated; and

• Affordable housing requirements (in a similar proportion as those included within the Mayor's proposed convention center Request for Proposals) should be incorporated within the residential development on the site, as follows:


(i) Not less than five percent of the rentable square footage of the residential portion of the site shall be affordable to households earning under 30 percent of the Washington, DC Area Median Income (AMI);

(ii) Not less than five percent of the rentable square footage of the residential portion of the site shall be affordable to households earning under 60 percent of AMI; and

(iii) Not less than 10 percent of the rentable square footage of the of the residential portion of the site shall be affordable to households earning under 80 percent of AMI; and

• More emphasis should be placed on the importance of the recreational, transportation and environmental benefits of the Metropolitan Branch Trail as an integral part of Takoma's revitalization.
  

Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1 provides a short title, Takoma Central District Plan Approval Resolution of 2002.

Section 2 states that the Mayor submitted the Takoma Central District Plan to the Council pursuant to the small area action provisions of the Comprehensive Plan.

Section 3 sets forth the Council's findings with regard to the Takoma Central District and the general purposes and effects of the small area action plan that has been prepared for the area, which are discussed in more detail in the previous section of this Report.

Section 4 provides the Council's approval of the Takoma Central District Plan, dated January 2002, which was submitted by the Mayor on March 20, 2002.

Section 5 references the fiscal impact statement in this Report.

Section 6 provides the effective date of the resolution.

Fiscal Impact

The Committee concurs with the following fiscal impact statement on PR 14-614 provided by the Chief Financial Officer, dated May 30, 2002:

"Funds are sufficient in the FY 2003 through FY 2006 budget and financial plan to implement the proposed approval resolution. The Revitalization Action Plan in the Takoma Central District Plan suggests action items that District agencies and community partners can act upon to improve the Takoma Central District. The activities assigned to District agencies would be conducted in the normal course of operations and absorbed into each agency's operating budget. The cost of the two surveys suggested in the Action Plan -- the Office of Planning's historic preservation survey and the Department of Transportation's transportation survey -- have already been budgeted into each respective agency's FY 2002 budget."

Position of the Executive Branch

PR 14-614 was introduced at the request of the Mayor, who, in a March 20, 2002 transmittal letter, urged the Council's prompt and favorable enactment of this legislation. Representatives of the executive branch, including the Office of Planning which oversaw the preparation of the Takoma Central District Plan, and the District Department of Transportation, testified at the Committee's public hearing in favor of PR 14-614 and the attached small area action plan.

Committee Action

On May 14 and 21, 2002, the Committee of the Whole held a public hearing on PR 14-614 and received nearly 10 hours of total testimony.

The following witnesses testified in favor of the Takoma Plan and its accompanying approval resolution: Larry Martin, Sustainable Community Initiatives; Steve Jones, Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities; Harriet Tregoning, Maryland Governor's Office on Smart Growth; Toby Millman, Eakin/Youngetob Associates; Dodie Butler, Plan Takoma; Anthony and Alice Giancola, citizens; Paul H. Meijer and Robert F. Patten, Coalition for Metropolitan Branch Trail; David Nicholson, citizen; Ellen Jones, Washington Area Bicyclist Association; Melanie Mayock, Sierra Club DC Chapter; Nancy Smith, citizen; Cheryl Cort, Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Cris Hines, citizen; Dean A. Cira, citizen; David Frye, citizen; Nicola Wood for Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth; Steve Libbey, citizen; Rebecca Smallwood, ANC 4B-02; Louis Lieb, ANC 4B-03; Alvin McNeal, WMATA; Michelle Pourciau, District Department of Transportation; and Andrew Altman, Office of Planning.

The following witnesses testified against the WMATA redevelopment site portion of the Takoma Plan, primarily urging retention of the status quo on the site in order to preserve existing open space and to accommodate future transit expansion needs on the site: Christopher Turner, Neighbors Inc.; Kathy Portor, Mayor of City of Takoma Park, Maryland; Joy Austin-Lane, Takoma Park, Maryland, City Councilmember; Loretta Neumann, Jessica Landman, Bonnie Moss and Mark Freedman, Historic Takoma, Inc.; Sara Green, ANC 4B; Haile Seyoum, citizen; Pat Jones, Eastmont Cooperative Apartments; Leonard Rubin, citizen; Montina Cole, citizen; Shireen Lewis, citizen; Diane Pecor, citizen; Ruth Foster, citizen; Faith Wheeler, citizen; Clara Scott; citizen; Alan Abrams, citizen; Angela Rooney, citizen; Douglas Willinger, Takoma Park Highway Design Studio; Nellie Moxley, citizen; Carol Rende, citizen; Jean Bennett, citizen; George French, citizen; Tamsen Robinson, citizen; Richard Holzsager, citizen; Brian Baker, citizen; and Daniel Barry, citizen.

A copy of written testimony at the public hearing, along with other written statements submitted for the record, have previously been circulated and are attached to this Report. The Committee notes that several recommendations have been made, on pages 5 and 6 of this Report, which are designed to address in part some of the concerns expressed by those who testified in opposition. The Committee also reiterates that additional opportunities will be available to the public, at hearings before the Zoning Commission and the Historic Preservation Review Board, to have concerns addressed with specific development proposals in the Takoma Central District which will be required to be considered and approved by those District agencies.

On June 4, 2002, the Committee of the Whole met in an additional meeting to consider PR 14-614 and this Committee Report. Chairman Cropp moved approval of PR 14-614. Councilmember Mendelson moved an amendment to exclude the Takoma Metro Station redevelopment site from the Council's approval of the Takoma Central District small area action plan. The proposed amendment was defeated by voice vote (all members present; Councilmembers Mendelson and Brazil requesting to be recorded as voting in favor). PR 14-614 was approved by voice vote (Councilmembers Mendelson and Brazil requested to be recorded as voting in opposition). Chairman Cropp moved approval of this Committee Report, which was approved by voice vote (all members present).

Attachments

© 2001-2004 Mark Freedman